Aston Martin launches the Vanquish Zagato Speedster and Shooting Brake

Words by Afzal Rawuther

Aston Martin has gone ahead and outdone itself. Again. If the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Coupe and the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante hadn’t made your jaw drop to the floor, this bit of news would certainly do so. Aston Martin has announced that there will be a Vanquish Zagato Speedster as well as a Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake that would be available too. Aston Martin is making 99 each of the Vanquish Zagato Coupe, the Vanquish Zagato Volante and the Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake. Unfortunately, most of the examples have been already sold out. However, only 28 will be made of the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Speedster and again, all of them are already sold out. All hope is not lost though, the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake commences production only in 2018 and Aston Martin is still accepting orders. Given the way it looks however, you shouldn’t wait too long before you make up your mind.

The Speedster and the Shooting brake are geared towards niches at two extremes. The Speedster is an open top, wind in your hair, ultra-exclusive supercar. A characteristic of the Speedster that cannot be missed are the speed humps that flow back from the seats to form streamlined cowls and make it stand apart from every other supercar. The design is further embellished by Vulcan-inspired ‘blade’ tail lights and repeated 3D Zagato ‘Z’ motifs in the front grille and rear vent meshes.

The Shooting Brake is a super car with the practicality of a GT. It has a powered tailgate that opens up into a luxuriously trimmed rear cabin that can be filled up with a tailored luggage set, if you are so inclined. With dramatic herringbone carbon fibre facia, anodised bronze rotary controls, extensive ‘Z’ motif quilting and the option of a fully aniline leather upholstery, the Shooting Brake sets itself apart from the other Zagatos.

Zagato’s signature ‘double bubble’ roof is found in both the Speedster and the Shooting Brake and is a treat to the eyes. There are characteristic Zagato design touches all over the cars, right from the exquisite roof to the intricately designed headlights, making you feel every bit as special as the cars themselves.

Mechanically, all the four cars are based on the Vanquish S, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing with the naturally aspirated V12s under the hood setting free a monstrous 592bhp mated to the quick shifting Touchtronic III transmission. All of the body panels are made of carbon fibre. Paired with the incredible engine and adaptive damping fine-tuned for each model, it promises an incredibly exciting driving experience.

The folks over at Aston Martin and Zagato had a few words to say about the union that the two share. Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, said of the Vanquish Zagato family, “We haven’t released Zagato models as a family before, at least not in this way, but the idea is not without precedent. Think back to the DB7 Zagato and DB AR1, or the V8 Zagato Coupe and Volante, for example. We’ve simply taken things a few steps further. Why create a family of Zagatos? Well, many of our customers want different things. Some prefer the purity of a Coupe, but others love the idea of something more extreme, like the Speedster. And yes, some of them have ordered one example of each. There’s always an over-demand from our clients and patrons. We could easily fulfill demand for more cars than this, but we want Zagato to remain something very special. We’re creating collectibles, future concours cars. With only 325 cars worldwide, divided between 99 Coupes, 99 Volantes, 28 Speedsters and 99 Shooting Brakes – they are still the rarest of the rare.”

Andrea Zagato, CEO of Zagato said of the enduring creative partnership: “Zagato’s relationship with Aston Martin began with my grandfather and the DB4 GT Zagato, almost sixty years ago. To have a creative ‘marriage‘ thrive for three generations is something as unique as the cars themselves. My family name is associated with all kinds of wonderful designs, but for many enthusiasts and collectors around the world those that combine the Z of Zagato with the wings of Aston Martin are the most special. Collaborating closely on the design of four complimentary, yet completely different Vanquish Zagatos has been an incredibly exciting challenge. I’m proud to continue the story my grandfather started and thrilled that our partnership with Aston Martin continues to realise such exciting cars.”

325 souls will soon be looked upon with much envy. So, if you aren’t among those lucky few, the best we can do is just let you gorge on those amazing photos of what are probably among the best looking cars of this decade, or maybe more? Let us know in the comments below.